Wireless user devices exchange wireless signals with wireless communication networks for data services like voice-calling, internet-access, and media streaming. The wireless communication networks have wireless access points that exchange the wireless signals with the wireless user devices. The typical wireless access point has several antennas, modulators, and processors. The processors execute network applications like Physical Layer (PHY), Media Access Control (MAC), Radio Link Control (RLC), Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Radio Resource Control (RRC), and Service Data Application Protocol (SDAP). The network applications control the transmission and reception of the wireless signals.
The wireless access point receives the wireless signals from the wireless user devices over various directions-of-arrival. In the wireless access point, the PHY determines the direction-of-arrival of each wireless signal by processing the received signal energy, phase, and frequency at multiple antennas over time. The PHY uses the direction-of-arrival for beamforming. The PHY also uses the direction-of-arrival for Multiple User Multiple Input Multiple Output (MU-MIMO) reception.
With MU-MIMO, multiple user devices share the same time and frequency resource block for their wireless transmission to the wireless access point. The wireless access point receives wireless signals from multiple user devices in the same resource block but from different directions-of-arrival. In the wireless access point, the PHY separates the received signals based on their different directions-of-arrival. Before separation, the PHY digitally filters the received signals with a digital filter that is configured to pass energy from these particular directions-of-arrival and to block energy from other directions.
The PHY in the wireless access point also determines radio noise and uplink utilization. The wireless access point takes remedial action when radio noise or uplink utilization become excessive. Unfortunately, the PHY does not effectively and efficiently use MU-MIMO direction-of-arrival filtering to handle excessive radio noise or uplink utilization.
Technical Overview
Radio circuitry wirelessly serves User Equipment (UE) with dynamic direction-of-arrival reception. Control circuitry determines a primary direction-of-arrival for a user signal and configures a digital filter for the primary direction-of-arrival. Detection circuitry filters the user signal with the digital filter configured for the primary direction-of-arrival and recovers user data from the user signal. The control circuitry determines increased radio noise and/or uplink utilization reconfigures the digital filter for multiple directions-of-arrival. The detection circuitry filters a subsequent user signal with the digital filter configured for the multiple directions-of-arrival and recovers additional user data from the subsequent user signal.